Community

June 18, 2008

Hemlock Woolly Adelgids

Hemlock trees are everywhere in the north Georgia mountains and they are
often used in suburban landscapes. But several years ago, tree experts
began to notice that hemlocks were being killed by adelgids, small
insects that are kin to a mealybug. Walter visits with forester Scott
Griffin to learn more about adelgids and their control.

Water Gardening in Pots

Container gardening is lots of fun but there are alternatives to
planting in soil. Amanda Campbell at the Atlanta Botanical Garden shows
Walter her containerized water gardens.

Walter Removes a Tree

When a big dogwood died in Walter's landscape, he needed to remove it
without digging a big hole around it. He used a hand-operated winch,
some heavy chain and a nearby pine tree anchor to pull the dogwood over.
Gravity did most of the work! Watch him jump out of the way when the
tree starts falling... only to find it was a false alarm!

Cankers

Walter hankers to talk about cankers, especially the common ones you
might find in landscape trees. If you have pine trees, you’ve probably
noticed the swollen branches of fusiform canker. And Walter says this
fungus also causes another odd phenomenon: brooming needles, which looks
like a huge squirrel nest in the top of a pine tree. Black knot and
pitch canker are also put under his curious examination.